Foreign Students

A former admissions clerk at Cal State Fullerton has been arrested on suspicion of taking bribes to fast-track foreign students' applications, officials confirmed Tuesday. Cathleen Louise Smith was arrested by campus police July 16 after an internal investigation revealed coding irregularities on applications, said university spokeswoman Paula Selleck. Smith, 54, who also was arrested on suspicion of methamphetamine possession, is no longer at the university. She was released on $20,000 bond.

A leading Moscow university ordered foreign students to stay in their dormitories for three days because of fears of ethnic violence before and after Adolf Hitler's birthday today. Hundreds of foreigners at Sechenov Moscow Medical Academy were told to stock up on food and warned they would not be let out of the dormitories through Saturday. At least 22 people have been killed and more than 130 injured in apparent hate crimes in Russia this year, said the SOVA center, which monitors xenophobia.

THE Ole Miss Rebel football team had taken a 7-0 lead over rival Mississippi State when a strange cheer erupted in a corner of the Rebels' home stadium. It was emanating from a small group just behind the marching band's tuba section. A dreadlocked South African named Badidile Mazibuko was leading it. "Ozzy Ozzy Ozzy!" Mazibuko yelled. "Oi! Oi! Oi!" his friends responded. "Ozzy!" "Oi!" "Ozzy! "Oi!"

Two Nepalese religious students have left Pakistan, the first of more than 1,400 foreigners set to be deported in a government drive to curb extremism at the nation's Islamic schools. Ahmad Ali, 20, and Shabnum Shagufa, 19, students at the Jamia Naeemia madrasa in the eastern city of Lahore, decided to return to Nepal after authorities warned that foreign students at madrasas could be arrested unless they left by September. "We are against terrorism," Ali said.

All foreign students studying at Islamic schools in Pakistan will be ordered to leave the country, President Pervez Musharraf said Friday. About 1,400 foreign students are enrolled in madrasas, or Islamic seminaries, some of which have been linked to militant groups. The foreign students "have to be removed from the country," Musharraf said at a news conference. "Even those having dual nationality. No one in the madrasas will be allowed to spread extremism and hatred in the society."

The number of foreign students enrolled in American colleges and universities dropped by 2.4% in 2003-04, the first decrease in more than 30 years, according to a report released today. The reasons for the falloff included stricter U.S. visa policies since the Sept. 11, 2001, attack, a perception that the United States is no longer as welcoming to overseas students and increased competition from foreign universities, experts said.

A new study says the number of foreign students attending U.S. colleges increased by less than 1% in 2002-2003 -- the lowest growth rate in seven years. The Institute of International Education said tightened visa procedures enacted after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks added to the low growth rate. The institute said foreign enrollment increased by only 0.6% last year. In each of the two previous academic years, foreign enrollment had increased by 6.4%.

The government will charge foreign students $100 to pay for a tracking system created to prevent possible terrorists from using student visas to enter the country, a federal official said Wednesday. Asa Hutchinson, an undersecretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said the onetime fee should generate more than $30 million annually for the Student and Exchange Visa Information Service. Foreigners enrolled in a department-approved school must register with the service to enter the U.S.

The Sept. 11 attacks rightly marshaled America against terrorism. Unfortunately, however, the government's zeal has created one of the most serious conflicts between security and freedom in our nation's history -- and its effects will be evident on college campuses, among other places, this fall. As a New York University educator, I am unusually anxious about the start of this academic year.

Colleges, language schools and other educational institutions with large numbers of foreign students must comply by today with new federal rules requiring such students to be registered in a centralized database run by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Immigration officials said nearly 6,000 schools have met the Aug. 1 deadline, but about 600 others -- mainly smaller institutions -- have not.